The Indian Odyssey of Michael and Nix

Our plans to get up early to walk Mount Arunachala fell by the wayside due to a sleepless night. Nix had a strong chai late in the evening which kept her up. In my case, mind was the culprit. Bad mind. Naughty mind. I kept wondering if we were doing the right thing staying in Tiruvannamalai. I am not at all sure what to make of the place – it could be an energetic hotspot or just a freakshow. Or both. Perhaps continuing with our original plan of heading North East would be better.... Who knows.... We’re still here for today though so decided to visit the nearby Sri Siva Sakhti ashram where we had been told a realized being presides at 10am everyday to give Darshan. In this town it seems you can throw a stone and hit an ashram or a realized being. Amma mentioned that there is a realized being in every town in India. Apparently that is x10 in Tiruvannamalai. There is another guru who is said to have attained Moksha in the year 2000 living in another ashram in the vicinity. I’m curious - how does someone know when they “attain” enlightenment? Is there a test they take? I think my realized being report card would say something like “Michael is easily distracted in class. He must try harder”. Or does some divine voice tell them they’ve sussed life, the universe and everything on a permanent basis? Or do they tell themselves? Ramana Maharishi says there is nothing to attain in the first place.... Words, thoughts, opinions – fat lot of good they do.... Anyway, we made it to the 10am Darshan at Sri Siva Sakhti. We walked into the hall which was filled with serious looking Westerners. We made our way to the front right where there was some space left and sat cross legged on the floor. I closed my eyes to meditate while we waited for the realized Indian lady to arrive. I went inward very quickly and soon put aside the discomfort of sitting on a marble floor and the noises that were happening around me. A while later I heard people getting up, which I assumed meant that the lady had arrived and that we should stand up. I opened my eyes to do so and saw everyone was leaving the hall. I noticed some people had tears in their eyes. I turned to Nikki and asked her what was going on and why everyone was leaving. She laughed and said the lady had already been and gone! Apparently I’d been sat there for 45 minutes or so – it felt like a much shorter time frame to me. I was surprised that nobody had got up to acknowledge her arrival as is customary in India. Furthermore, she had come in remarkably quietly which is highly unusual (quietness is a foreign concept in India). I was also surprised to hear that the lady (who is also called “Amma” coincidentally. I think “Amma” might mean mother or something like that) had stood in front of me for some time staring at me intently with a smile on her face. Ah well, I felt very relaxed as I had been sitting there, so it had been a worthwhile exercise if only for that reason. The ashram atmosphere is evidently conducive to sitting quietly, so I’m keen to return to sit in the hall on my own (it sits empty for much of the day). I’m also up for giving Darshan another shot ;)